Poker is a card game that people play to win money. The game involves some luck and skill, but it also requires a lot of strategy.
A standard 52-card pack of cards, sometimes with one or two jokers, is used in poker. The cards are ranked from high to low: Ace, King, Queen, Jack and 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5.
The highest possible hand is a five of a kind. Some games have wild cards, which can take on whatever suit and rank their possessor desires.
Poker requires skill and a great deal of patience. Players must minimize losses with poor hands and maximize winnings with good ones.
How to Play
To begin a Poker game, each player must place an initial contribution called an ante in the pot. The dealer then deals a complete hand of cards to each player, face-down.
After the antes are placed, betting rounds begin. During these rounds, each player may discard up to three cards and replace them with new cards from the deck.
How to Win
The best hand wins the showdown and takes the pot, which is usually a sum of money that all the players have bet into. A winning hand usually has a combination of high cards and pairs.
Some of the more popular combinations include a full house, flush, straight and three of a kind. A full house is a hand of three cards of the same rank and two of another rank, such as three 8s and two 4s.